$16,000 New Zealand 'bisect' to unite collectors at Spink's stamp auction
$16,000 New Zealand 'bisect' to unite collectors at Spink's stamp auction
A halved 1850's one-shilling stamp is among the top lots at the June sale
A rare mid-19th century New Zealand 'bisect' is coming to auction at Spink in London on June 8.
The vertically bisected green one-shilling cover is expected to make between 8,000 and 10,000 at the sale of theDr Robert Towers collection.
The stamp was employed on a letter from Otago, New Zealand to Edinburgh, Scotland in 1859.
Less is more when it comes to bisect stamps
Due to a lack of sixpenny stamps, a resourceful Otago postal clerk simply halved a 1855-57 one-shilling (worth 12 pence) specimen instead.
Featuring what Spink calls "very rare provisional franking", the stamp was produced in Auckland on blue paper.
Just 26 bisects are known to exist, a fact that is sure to have collectors and investors highly interested in this piece.
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